Fields Steps Up As The Last Line of the Terrier Defense

Sean Fields stones people.

But he doesn’t like to talk about it.

Fields, the sophomore goaltender for the Boston University hockey team, doesn’t pay much attention to the euphemisms that describe the play of talented goalies like himself. He prefers to just play hockey.

In fact, when asked to select a particular moment that has stood out in the 15 years he has played hockey, he couldn’t.

“Nothing really sticks out,” he said. “I always just enjoy going out and playing.”

Fields came to BU last year after a brief courtship with the University’s hockey program. Until the middle of the summer of 2000, he had planned to return to the Penticton Panthers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League. However, after the Terriers’ starting goaltender, Rick DiPietro, left school after just one year to play in the National Hockey League, the coaching staff needed to find another netminder.

“We had planned on Ricky leaving at the end of his sophomore year,” BU coach Jack Parker said. “Sean was kind of young coming here. Everybody was thinking about recruiting him the following year.”

In fact, Fields had heard from a few schools that had hoped to bring him in this year as opposed to last year. He also could have gone on to major-juniors, a level just above the level he played at in Penticton, but he decided he wanted to get an education.

After some deliberation, Fields headed south from his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, to Boston to complement Jason Tapp — then a junior — who was left as the only goalie on the roster when DiPietro left.

Replacing DiPietro was a tall order. DiPietro departed after just one year — one of the most memorable seasons in recent BU history. DiPietro stood on his head most of the season, making save after save. Along the way, he was named the Beanpot’s Most Valuable Player and the Hockey East Rookie of the Year.

DiPietro also played in one of the greatest college hockey games in recent history, saving an NCAA record 77 shots in a four-overtime loss to St. Lawrence University in the 2000 NCAA tournament.

The legend attached to DiPietro’s lone season as a Terrier doesn’t faze Fields.

“There’s always standards to live up to,” Fields said. “I’m a different person, and I realize that. I just come in and try to be me.”

He may be a different person, but he’s turned in some equally impressive performances.

In his first college game, against Merrimack College on Nov. 4, 2000, Fields made 25 saves to shut out the Warriors, 3-0. It was the first time a Terrier goalie had posted a shutout in his collegiate debut since Scott Cashman did it against Merrimack on Nov. 4, 1989.

By the end of his freshman year, Fields had secured the top Terrier goalie spot, playing in 10 of BU’s last 16 games, including all three games in the Hockey East quarterfinals against Providence College.

Parker said Fields showed glimpses of his ability to be the starter throughout the season but was not consistent enough to grab the job until the end of the season.

“We needed some good goaltending that night,” during the Merrimack game, Parker said. “But one snowflake doesn’t make a blizzard. He was somewhat inconsistent later on, so we wound up holding him off.

“He’s given us some great performances this year,” he added. “He’s been more consistent, at some times spectacular.”

Last week Fields was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week after saving 56 of 58 shots in a two-game sweep of Boston College.

Against the University of New Hampshire at Walter Brown Arena on Nov. 5, Fields stopped 37 of 38 shots — including several arm-stretching glove saves on Wildcat breakaways — to help the Terriers to a 1-1 tie.

After one glove save, the crowd chanted “Who needs Ricky?” as DiPietro watched from Section 13.

“I kind of just shrugged it off,” Fields said. “It kind of brought a smile to my face, but I just try to focus on the game.”

“I was honestly thinking, just by watching the way Sean played, that solidified that he was one of the elite goaltenders in the league,” said Terrier senior defenseman Pat Aufiero.

Earlier in the same weekend, Fields made 27 saves against Northeastern University in a 4-3 win.

Unfortunately, not all of Fields’ games have gone so well. This past weekend, Fields was in goal for most of two losses to the University of New Hampshire, 6-1 on Friday in Durham, N.H., and 5-3 on Sunday at Walter Brown.

The players in front of Fields made several defensive mistakes, letting UNH players in for multiple breakaways on the weekend.

“Everyone’s human out there,” Fields said. “UNH is a very high-powered team. Making mistakes is definitely going to cost you … I really thought we had a chance to get the sweep.

“But, you can’t really dwell over wins and losses. I definitely wasn’t in the best of moods last night, but stuff blows over.”

The two losses left Fields with a 12-5-2 record and a 2.66 goals-against average, both good for sixth in Hockey East.

According to Aufiero and team co-captain Mike Pandolfo, a senior forward, Fields’ overall performance this year has offset many of the mistakes made by the other players on the ice. He’s also become the foundation of the team’s success.

“Your goalie’s definitely a team leader; they’re our last line of defense,” Pandolfo said. “He brings the confidence he has to everybody.”

His teammates might praise his ability and importance, but getting Fields to admit he is a team leader and a talented young goaltender is a nearly impossible task.

“The way I look at it is you should earn your ice. I just came in with a mentality if I played hard and played well, I’d get ice time,” he said. “I think everyone’s a leader in their own way, but I’m not really a rah-rah guy.”

Fields has always been quiet. In fact, he silently slipped into the goalie position in youth hockey.

“I played defense up until I was 10 or 11. The goalie on our team was sick one day,” he said. “They decided to stick me in.”

Though the goalie position wasn’t always in Fields’ plan, playing hockey was. He started when he was four, skating on ponds near his home in Edmonton and then joining youth hockey, where he started competition in the mite division.

Fifteen years and seven levels of competition later, Fields doesn’t chase the puck like he did when he was younger, instead working to keep it in front of him. But, he is still chasing his dreams of playing in the NHL.

He grew up watching the overwhelming offense and solid backstopping of the Edmonton Oilers, a team that won five Stanley Cups in seven years and that he called “Hometown Oil.”

Fields recalled the days he cheered for Grant Fuhr, Bill Ranford, Curtis Joseph and Tommy Salo, all of whom have backstopped the Oilers. He said if he had the chance, he’d go head-to-head with Wayne Gretzky, the former Oilers forward who shattered almost every single major offensive record during his career and became known as “The Great One.”

In a couple years, Fields hopes to be on his way to the NHL to play with some of his heroes. His teammates said he has the ability to make it.

“He’s definitely got the talent to play on,” Pandolfo said. “He’s really focused and driven. He’s just so competitive.”

If and when he hits the NHL, Fields will bring with him his own playing style — a focus on basics and hard work without any frills.

“I don’t know if I’d model my style after anyone,” Fields said. “Someone’s style is a little bit like their personality.”